Research: Netflix and Disney+ Have Highest Audience Demand for Original Content

Having a high amount of content, especially original series, is a major factor in the success of streaming services. New research from Parrot Analytics shows that TV series owned by Disney have the largest share of audience demand on streaming platforms. Netflix is in the lead for U.S. demand for series content, regardless of if it’s original or outsourced. Parrot Analytics researchers say, “Demand for original and exclusively licensed content is a key leading indicator of subscriber growth for SVOD platforms.”

The Corporate Demand Share results give us insight into how well top media companies can perform long term and if they are willing to consolidate original content availability onto their own platforms.

Q3 2021 Data Results:

Demand Shares for Series by Corporate Owner:

• Disney - 20.1%
• ViacomCBS - 13.1%
• WarnerMedia - 12.1%
• NBCUniversal - 10.6%
• Netflix - 7.7%
• Discovery - 7.1%
• Other Corporations - 29.2%

Platform Demand Shares for All Series:

• Netflix - 21.3%
• Hulu - 19.1%
• HBO Max - 11.3%
• Amazon Prime Video - 9.5%
• Paramount+ - 8.0%
• Discovery+ - 6.9%
• Peacock - 6.5%
• Disney+ - 5.7%
• Other - 11.7%

Platform Demand Shares for All Digital Originals:

• Netflix - 43.7%
• Disney+ - 8.9%
• Amazon Prime Video - 8.6%
• Hulu - 7.2%
• Apple TV+ - 6.5%
• HBO Max - 6.1%
• Paramount+ - 3.9%
• Other - 15.2%

Netflix has seen the most success with its original content. However, in terms of the number of exclusive content, Disney+ has the most, but only by a small margin. 89% of Disney's content is exclusive whereas Netlix's originals make up 83% of its catalog. However, Netflix is releasing unique series like “Squid Game” among many others that keeps the demand higher.

Related: Which Streaming Service Has the Most Exclusive Content?

The streaming services that seem to be the most in trouble are Paramount+ and Peacock. According to a study from Kantar Entertainment On Demand, Peacock lost 13% of its paying subscribers between Q1 and Q2 of 2021. Nearly 1-in-10 Peacock users wouldn’t even stay for a free product…

Although Paramount+ has been around for the longest, they are clearly doing the worst, and have been for the past two years. This is due to ViacomCBS “licensing out its most in-demand series - such as Criminal Minds, NCIS, Shameless, and Spongebob Squarepants - to other streaming platforms,” according to researchers. Parrot Analytics also notes, “In order to compete in the streaming game long term, ViacomCBS must prioritize clawing back the programming it is licensing out and placing it exclusively on Paramount+ or Showtime, or a combination thereof.”